Why Are These Trees Fabulous?

This dungeon talked a lot of crap for being in Osiris' backyard.

A tiny, cerulean noodle slithered through the tall grass of Shadowhue Forest, eyes squinty and mistrusting. This dratini liked to think he'd been around the block a few times, but when running through his mental resume of being an awesome dude, he realized he hadn't quite explored the depths of Shadowhue yet. He hadn't really explored any of the dungeons close to Grassveil, and while Pecha was excusable because that was boring and for little kids, this place was supposed to be different.

So. It was on. As part of his new resolution to get his act together, get strong and powerful and skilled, and defend his friends and help them out of the awful situations they'd found themselves in, he was going to climb the ladder. He'd start with this dungeon and work his way up to the biggest and baddest of them, and then he'd swoop back into their lives like a superhero and fix everything.

For now, he merely pasted on a determined expression, fastened his satchel to himself, and slithered into the depths of the gloomy forest. The dragon-type's eyes were peeled for interesting matchups and discoveries.

43 - 10 (entry cost): 33 energy

Robin was many things, but self-delusion wasn't one of her particular vices. So she liked to think, at least. Her journey to Windrose wasn't exactly born from the most selfless of reasons, but no one had to know that little secret. She had approached the bulletin board intending to choose a rumour mostly at random, and it was a bit of a surprise to herself when one in particular caught her eye. It was... a rather whimsical thing, wasn't it? Rainbow trees.

Like something out of a storybook, perhaps. Her steps were feather light, scarcely making a sound, even as her gaze focused on a little blue dragon slithering along the path, a bag strapped securely to his side. If this were a children's fairy tale, he would look the perfect part of the hero, she mused, with a satchel at his side and a confident swagger to the way he moved.

(If he was the protagonist, she decided not to think about what role she would be cast as.)

Despite the murky places her mind drifted, she couldn't say she would mind the company. This was a rather dreary place to be on her own - and besides, perhaps he could use some help? The least she could do was making herself useful. He looked on the younger side, from her first impression, and she couldn't help but find it a tad worrying that he seemed to be alone. "Hello!" She chimed, raising her voice to catch his attention, starting a bit awkwardly before she found her stride. "Forgive me for interrupting. What brings you here?"

Osiris' attention was quickly drawn away from the murky depths of the forest in favor of... a stranger? Some kind of friendly pokemon, at any rate, and he found himself drawing closer before he even thought about it. The dratini was a lot of things—childish, rash, and impatient being some examples—but unfriendly was not one of them. And he couldn't deny being a little curious about what this person wanted, so...

"Uh, hi," the dratini called back, coming to a stop a few paces away from the other pokemon. "I'm... well, I'm mostly here to beat stuff up, to be totally honest with you."

A little blunt, to be sure, but honesty was more important than sugarcoating things, in his opinion. His eyes roamed over the stranger's form, taking in the characteristics of her appearance and failing to place what kind of pokemon she was supposed to be. She looked like a vulpix, but he'd never see one so snow-white or fluffy before. Maybe she was a shiny and just had some really super effective conditioner? "I'm Osiris. You can call me Iris, if you want." he introduced himself a moment later, raising his tail and waving at her with it.

His answer sparked an amused smile from Robin, one she let linger on her face. "Is that so?" Her tone was warmer than her words would suggest. Well, that was certainly upfront of him. But she supposed was hardly one to judge. It wasn't becoming to let loose like that in front of others, but after she'd put up with a difficult day, storming a mystery dungeon could be downright cathartic.

... though, this one seemed to be in a decent mood. He was most likely here for a different reason. Trying to prove himself, perhaps? She turned it over in her mind before filing it away, knowing any insight she tried to glean just yet would be little more than conjecture. She smile flickered into something smaller, softer, perhaps less genuine to a keen eye, that flicker of amusement faded.

"It's nice to meet you, Iris." Calling him a nickname felt oddly familiar, for her tastes, for someone who was a stranger to her. She shrugged off the odd feeling. She knew the script for such conversations; it was her turn to say who she was and what brought her here. "I'm Robin. Ah - I'd return the offer, but I don't have any nicknames of my own." She mused, losing her train of thought for a moment as her brow furrowed in thought, trying to place if she'd ever had one. Not that she could recall. At least, not any that she would wish to be called by again.

"I'm on a mission from Win-"

... oh, no. Deimos had been quite clear that the library was a secret. Was Windrose not just little-known knowledge, but actively hidden? A flicker of worry flashed across her face as she realized she had misspoke, kicking herself for the error. She cursed her judgement as she tried to place what to say next, her mind whirling at a fevered pace.

"-Winston, a friend of mine. Rumour says there's an oddity in this forest, and he wanted me to investigate it, and see if there was any truth to the matter." If her smile was just a bit tighter than it was before, well, she was still chiding herself for making such a simple mistake. Really, she'd thought she was better than that.

Wasn't she polite? Osiris smiled absentmindedly, glad to come across a stranger in a mystery dungeon that wasn't hostile for once. Any traces of falsehood or deceptiveness flew right over his head, as he was entirely too caught up in the novelty and pleasant surprise of this encounter. Maybe it was to be expected though; while Shadowhue Forest didn't have the reputation as a kiddie playground like Pecha did, it was pretty close to Grassveil. There were probably lots of pokemon in here with him right now. This vulpix was just the one he'd come across first.

The draini perched up eagerly, showing off a little bit of his height as an idea came to his mind. "Well... it's nice to meet you, Robin. What kinda oddity are you lookin' for?" he probed, tilting his head curiously as he asked. "I don't mind pitching in a little bit if you wanna pair up. I'm probably gonna be here a while - lots of ground to cover and all that." the dratini offered, nonchalant and casual about running through a dungeon with someone he just met. It worked out relatively well for him last time he gave it a shot - sure, he got his butt kicked in the process, but he made a really good friend in that stranger.

It was too early to tell with this one, but she wasn't out to eat him yet, so that was a better-than-average start.

Robin wasn't sure if it was a relief or a disappointment, the way he hadn't even blinked. If he had doubted her story for a moment, she hadn't been able to tell. Windrose was safe and secret, so she supposed it was a victory. She perked up a bit at the question shot her way, a hint of embarrassment creeping across her face. "I should warn you, it's... going to sound fantastical." She warned, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed that some part of her had bought into such a thing. It was merely a rumour, little more.

"Word on wind says that there are unusual trees cropping up in Shadowhue. The only way to really describe them is, well. Rainbow. Their bark is different colors, including red, white and green - so says the rumour, at least." Ah, now this conversation was getting a bit treacherous. She wondered if the Dratini would laugh at her, if he knew she had believed such a thing might be true, if only briefly? If something in her eyes lit up as she started imagining it?

He seemed kind enough, but appearances could be deceiving. She tilted her head, a thoughtful frown etched onto her face. "Do you think there could be any truth to the matter, Iris?" Everyone preferred to talk about themselves and their thoughts, so she had learned. That was one of the many reasons why questions had become a favorite of hers.

Osiris nodded along as the vulpix spoke, picturing in his mind's eye a grove of rainbow trees waiting to be discovered. As cool as it might look in his imagination, he couldn't see the purpose or utility of such a thing. What was the difference between a brown tree and a red one? Couldn't you just paint over it anyway to get the color you wanted? At best, it'd be a pretty sight... but he supposed that was all the incentive he really needed to check it out.

It wasn't like he wasn't going to run all over the forest looking for pokemon that might give him challenges anyway. "I don't know," the dratini honestly admitted. "It sounds kinda weird, but I've seen way weirder stuff. And I've never really gone through this whole forest before, so... yeah, there could be some rainbow trees to be found if we go deep enough."

If anything, he was a little surprised that the oddity she was investigating was... so mundane. Osiris had been half-expecting her to talk about sightings of a great and terrible monster, or maybe a sickness that was hurting the wildlife, or something dramatic along those lines. Not that this wasn't fine too - it still sounded like a fun highlight to his otherwise boring and tedious dungeon training session.

"D'you got any leads, or should we just pick a direction and get to marching?" he asked, glancing deeper into the forest before looking back at Robin questioningly.

the sunset hero carried out 10 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

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Way weirder stuff? Now, that perked her curiosity, betrayed by a slight twitch of her ears. "Oh? Like what?" She chimed along, nodding as he spoke. Perhaps such oddities would be of interest to Windrose. Surely Russell would be pleased with her if she brought back new rumours to investigate. And that aside... she had to admit she was curious as to what this Dratini had seen, to make rainbow trees seemed downright reasonable.

She hummed thoughtfully in response to his question, tilting her head. "I wasn't given anything in the way of leads, I'm afraid. It's been kept fairly well hidden so far, so if they're real, I'd assume the trees are somewhere deep inside. In any case, lead the way, Osiris - I'll watch your back."

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Shadowhue Forest :

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33 - 30 (rolls): 3 energy left

Heartened that his proposal was accepted, Osiris grinned and did as she bid - he turned on a dime and started off at a casual slither, leading the pair into the forest proper. This would be funner than just running through here by himself and doing his work in silence, he knew. While Robin didn't seem like the most lively or enthusiastic of companions—though she was here on business, to be fair to her—any company was better than no company in his book. And if he was lucky, maybe he'd get to show off a little bit.

Like what, she asked? "Well, there was this one time a buddy of mine and I ran through this place called Everspring Vale. It's this real crazy big forest-place in the east, except it's not just a forest. There's like waterfalls and valleys and rock quarries and stuff, which is cool but not crazy you know?" Osiris started off, mindlessly running through the story as he thought back to that day. "The crazy part happens when we get to this, uh... well, it was like a flat rocky kinda place at the bottom of a hill. There were all kinds of big holes in the ground, and every so often...

"FWOOSH! They'd shoot up big torrents water super high into the sky! And they'd just fall right down and it'd happen over and over again." The dratini recalled. Water geysers probably weren't as fantastical as rare rainbow trees, but to his tiny prepubescent brain, they sure were a heck of a lot cooler. It was definitely one of the highlights of that particular adventure.

(I think you rolled with a teensy bit more energy than what Robin has; unless you've got an item or something I don't know about, she should only have 6 energy after entering this dungeon after the entry cost. If that's the case and I'm not being a dumb nosy noser, I can toss you a Munchy Mix that'd give you +10 energy so you can keep all 10 of those rolls (instead of ignoring the last 4 since you only had 6 energy, which is what usually happens when someone makes a oopsie rolling like this.) You'd still end up with 0 energy, but you could at least hold on to all the stuff you just found~)

(Oh, that was not my finest moment, pfft. I'll take you up on that, if you don't mind. Thank you for bailing me out!)

Everspring Vale... the Dratini's description brought a faint smile to her face as she pictured it. Waterfalls and rock quarries. Perhaps there were even rainbows that reflected off the waterfalls. She couldn't help but chide herself. It was a rather beautiful picture, but she had more present things to focus on. Namely, she had promised to watch the little serpent's back. "Oh, I've heard of geysers! But I've never seen them in person, myself." She mused, a hint of her previous excitement creeping it's way into her voice.

"They do sound amazing." She mused, a bit surprised herself to find it was only mostly flattery. Perhaps it was the way he described it, with such childlike wonder written so clearly across his face. It was downright infectious. She was almost jealous, in that heartbeat, as silly as she knew it was - surely she wasn't feeling insecure over missing out on some water geysers? Even she couldn't be that petty.

She brushed it off and filed it away, only to freeze in place. "Iris-" Her voice was a low hush, her ears perking in the direction of footsteps from somewhere to her right. "I think there's something over there. Keep your head up."

Robin's Energy: 0

(np, happens to everybody tbh lmao)

Geysers? Iris hadn't heard that term used for them before, but it was better than "hole-in-the-ground-that-shoots-up-lots-of-water." And Robin seemed pretty smart and proper, so it was more likely than not that she knew what she was talking about. The dratini found himself wondering just what it was she did; maybe she was some kind of nature reporter or something, investigating trees and stuff? The dratini was drawn from that line of thought by the vulpix herself, his head raising alertly as she warned him.

Osiris scanned the direction she'd pointed out, not immediately seeing anything suspicious. It was just trees, foliage, and bushes as far as his eyes could see. A moment later, though, a brown-feathered avian pokemon wielding a leek came shambling out of the bushes, evidently discerning that it wasn't sneaking up on them any time soon. "Oh, it's one of those," he commented, tensing up in case it grew hostile or aggressive. "Farfetch'd, I think they're called."

The farfetch'd twirled its leek deftly in its feather-hands, hopping from foot to foot with a bit of spunk in its step. Maybe they'd intruded on its territory or something - it appeared energetic and intended to get involved. "Are you very strong, or do you want me to uh... you know? Or maybe we just keep going?" Osiris trailed off, wondering how exactly his new companion wanted to handle this.

They could do the obvious thing, of course, and try to wallop the little guy. Or they could do the mature thing and just... go, and see if he'd pursue them at all. Osiris just glanced at the vulpix next to him, curious to see what she wanted to do.

Robin only paused for the briefest moment as the ball was put into her court. She was quite lucky, this time, having already been given the right answer directly. I'm mostly here to beat stuff up, to be totally honest with you. He was here to train, she suspected. And she would earn more respect from the little serpent if she at least looked capable. She would have preferred to avoid conflict, if she were alone, for one rather inconvenient reason. But, so be it. "I can handle it, if you wouldn't mind? Just take cover." She chimed, glancing upwards to find that dark, stormy clouds had begun to gather, gray skies poking out from the space between the trees.

Hailstones had begun to bounce off the trees, larger ones tearing their way through the canopy to scatter across the ground. Robin stepped forward, a cold wind whipping at her fur. The poor thing barely had time to react before a freezing gust slammed into it, knocking it off it's feet and sending it running. A second, furious squawk caught her off guard, sending Robin stumbling back as a second Farfetch'd slammed it's leek into her side.

The dull thud stung more than she had expected it to, forcing some distance between them with another Powder Snow as tried to catch her breath. She focused another gale on the new enemy, which stumbled back as frost began to collect on the tips of it's feathers. They had reached something of a stalemate as it tried to fight through the wind to hit her, while Robin squeezed her eyes shut and used all her focus to keep the Powder Snow up and force it back.

Osiris did as advised, slithering away a fair distance, curious as to what this vulpix could do. He was a little heartened by her choice to fight - it was nice to see pokemon willing to stand up for themselves, and this duck thing seemed to be looking for trouble. The dratini watched with inquisitive and fascinated eyes as a hailstorm picked up, seemingly at Robin's silent command.

The ensuing commotion was straightforward, if a bit simple. A few traded blows, and in came a second farfetch'd, and suddenly Robin was placed squarely on the backfoot. That wasn't proper, he decided immediately. The bite of the suddenly chilling wind and occasional hailstone bouncing off his noggin be darned, he wasn't going to see anyone get jumped on like that!

The dratini jumped into the fray, instantly crossing the modest distance between him and the three battling pokemon with a burst of Extremespeed. His course carried him directly towards the second duck pokemon, and he crashed into it with a surprise full-body tackle, his head digging into the bird's side. The force between the vulpix's ice-type attack and his sucker-punch of an ambush seemed to be too much for it, as the tawny bird stumbled drunkenly for only a few steps before falling. Its leek fell out of its grasp, and the original farfetch'd quacked at the sight, seemingly outraged... and then it turned on a dime and sprinted away.

Osiris and his companion were left with a groggy, defeated duck in the middle of a chilly clearing in the forest, hail sprinkling down admist the now-cold air. "Lame," he decided, staring down at it. "Two-on-one isn't fair to start with, but his buddy's gotta run as soon as the tables turn? That's rotten. You okay?"

His last question was directed at the vulpix, a thrum of guilt and concern washing over him. It wasn't like he knew about the second one, but it didn't change the fact that she got caught off guard 'cos he was busy watching.

She hadn't been expecting the Dratini to step in, and much more surprisingly, she hadn't expected him to knock out the thing with a single strike. He moved quick as lightning, there before her eyes in a flash, and Robin had to quickly call off her Powder Snow to not risk hurting him. But perhaps she hadn't needed to worry too much about that. The little serpent was, apparently... a lot stronger than she'd first thought. "Mm? Oh, I'm alright, that was nothing."

And, truth be told, it hadn't. It had stung in the moment, but the blow had already faded to a low ache, and it would have faded entirely in a few minutes. It wasn't as if bruises would show through her fur, after all; she barely had anything to worry over. Still... the note of genuine concern in his voice was oddly touching, despite herself. She found her mind clinging to it, even as she smiled brightly to reassure his fears.

"More importantly, though, you're tough! I'm impressed. You knocked him right out in a single hit." She praised, shooting a passing glance at the Farfetch'd to confirm it was down for the count. She almost could have pitied the thing; it hardly stood a chance. Her smile turned a bit sheepish as she glanced back up at the stormy clouds, stray hailstones battering their way through the leaves.

That was why she... preferred not to battle, when she could avoid it. It wasn't so bad when she was alone, but when there were others around... "Er, I'm sorry about the storm. I can't control it. It should pass in a couple minutes, unless we get into another battle, so we can just take shelter until it passes, it's really not a big problem-"

She paused, catching herself rambling a moment too late. She internally cursed at herself, her smile slight and downright plastic, not even pretending to reach her eyes.

There was a quirk of Osiris' snout that betrayed the beginnings of a smile, but that was all the reaction he had to the vulpix's praise. He knew he was decent, maybe better than most kids in Grassveil, but more than that he knew he wasn't where he wanted to be. Iris wanted to be capable of more than smacking around silly ducks in Shadowhue - it's why he planned on going as deep as he could in here today, to see what the dungeon really had to offer.

More important than that for now, though, was Robin's task. Osiris tilted his head a little curiously, hearing how the vulpix cut herself off, but figuring she just tripped over her words a bit. It happened - battling could be exciting. "Aw, it's fine, if you can't help it. Is it bugging you, though?" Iris asked curiously. "I don't mind walking through it until it passes. I mean, if I get pelted too bad, I might say something and we can break for a minute, but I'm good for now." Getting pelted by hail every few seconds was... annoying, sure, and it was colder now, but all-in-all tolerable so far.

And it was clear now that Robin was some kind of ice-type. The impromptu hailstorm and the ease and familiarity with which she was freezing those farfetch'd gave him that impression pretty strongly. She was concerned for his sake, obviously, and there might have been a time where that would have rankled him, but despite the coldness in the air, he felt a bit of warmth at her words.